Chapter 696: Imminent

The back door of the Che Mansion.

Tang Zhao held A Yun and said softly, "Town Guardian Che, I won't say any parting words; we shall meet again in Yunzhou. I will take A Yun back to our lodging first; please trouble yourself to inform the Sui Family Troupe."

He could, of course, return to the main hall, but if he went back to see the people of the Sui Family Troupe, they would inevitably recognize each other, and there would surely be a display of sorrow and joy; such genuine emotions did not need to be exposed to everyone, and he was not an actor, having no desire to indulge in that feeling under the spotlight.

Whether Che Lin understood Tang Zhao's reasoning or not, he could not object to such a small matter, so he said, "Very well, I will tell them. We shall meet again in Yunzhou. I have not left Youzhou for a long time; having grown accustomed to being a Town Guardian, it is truly difficult to find an opportunity to reflect. I hope that when we meet next, I will have thought things through..."

Before the words had faded, Tang Zhao suddenly turned his head, his brows furrowing.

Che Lin was stunned for a moment, then immediately sensed a wisp of Yin Qi surging from afar; because the distance was too great, the sensation was not clear, but his heart sank, and a token at his waist flashed once.

His expression changed abruptly, and he said, "Yin Calamity?"

He unhooked the waist token, examined the relief carving on it closely, and then looked up at the sun to identify the direction.

Tang Zhao was right beside him and, glancing sideways, saw that the front of the token was a waist token of the Land Inspection Division, while the back was a directional pointer similar to a compass. Right now, there was a smear of red in the southwest, resembling a drop of blood.

Southwest, the same direction as the Yin Qi Tang Zhao had suddenly sensed. The token must be used to guide the location of Yin Calamities.

This token was quite convenient, able to display the location of Yin Calamities at any time; the equipment of the Land Inspection Division in each region was distributed by the province, and Yunzhou did not have this. But judging by Tang Zhao's knowledge, let alone inferring, even a Dharma Artifact capable of monitoring all Yin Calamities in a commandery or county in real-time could certainly not be made this small; there must be a massive Dharma Artifact at their headquarters, and this token was merely a receiving device.

Seeing this, Tang Zhao said, "Since you have official business, I will take my leave."

He was actually also of the Land Inspection Division, but after all, he was not from the same province and could not interfere in someone else's chain of command.

However, he did not intend to stand idly by; he only planned to follow behind after Che Lin set off, to prevent any accidents.

Che Lin smiled apologetically and said, "The official business is indeed urgent. A Yin Calamity was unexpectedly detected, and it is at the Demon Cave level. Since the Yin Qi has appeared, the Demon Cave will arrive in a day or two; this is truly an accident. This time, let alone me, even the brothers have lost their holiday. You should go first, sir; do not worry about those friends and family, my father will not slight them." Having said this, he prepared to leave.

Tang Zhao suddenly said, "Wait, you said it was detected temporarily; did you not have an early record of this Demon Cave?"

Although the Yin Qi was only detected now, there were usually signs before a Demon Cave arrived; the Land Inspection Division should have discovered it long ago, and even if they could not pinpoint the exact time, they should have marked the location and made preparations a month in advance, which would not have been considered early.

Che Lin said with some gravity, "It is indeed an accident. Although Yin Calamities often occur suddenly, the Demon Caves are usually under control. Today there is a disaster..." He felt there was no time for idle talk and prepared to leave again.

At this moment, Tang Zhao said, "I will go too."

Che Lin looked back in astonishment and let out an "Ah?"

For an instant, Che Lin felt that Tang Zhao was looking for trouble where there was none, and his estimation of him lowered.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, I respect you very much. If this were a matter of the pugilistic world, or even my own private affair, I would certainly invite you to go together, but this is official business. When the Land Inspection Division handles matters, it is inconvenient for outsiders to follow."

Tang Zhao said, "I have no intention of prying into private affairs. It is because it is official business that I must go. This Demon Cave is unusual, and the location where it is descending is also unusual. That direction—" he pointed to the southwest, "fifty miles away is exactly the border of Yunzhou. The Demon Cave is right on the border of Yunzhou and Youzhou; by the time you rush over, people from Yunzhou will likely have arrived as well. The two provinces will be handling the case together."

Che Lin only felt his head ache; his directional token could not accurately indicate distance, and his sensing of the Yin Qi was not very clear either; he had only just learned that this Yin Calamity was actually on the border of the two provinces.

The border... joint case handling?

Joint case handling between provinces—whoever has handled such troublesome matters knows what it is like.

Especially Yunzhou, which was incompatible with Youzhou in every aspect; both sides looked at each other with disdain. Although they were not yet enemies, having to cooperate with each other was extremely difficult.

However...

"Handling a case with Yunzhou is still the Land Inspection Division's own business; why must you follow, sir?"

Tang Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Did I not introduce myself? We are peers; I am also of the Land Inspection Division. Tang Zhao of the Yunzhou Land Inspection Division shall handle the case together with Town Guardian Che."

Only, my official rank is a bit higher than yours.

In the main hall.

"Sui Ye, come, let me toast you again." Che Laotaiye raised his cup enthusiastically.

Sui Dahai forced a smile and said, "This is too polite. How can this old man deserve such treatment? I will drink, please do as you wish." After speaking, he drank another cup.

Beside him, Sui Feng, Qiao Shuanglian, Chang Qiu, and the others sat in a row.

Just a moment ago, they were still on the stage, being lined up and scrutinized, with the masters of the house potentially seeing any one of them as a thief at any time, ready to have servants pounce on them like wolves and tigers, drag them away, and strip them for a search; but now, including Che Laotaiye, all the old and young of the Che family were sitting below to accompany them, inviting Sui Dahai to sit in the seat of honor, and the people of the Lianhua Troupe were all given seats of honor, taking turns to toast and serve dishes.

At this time, the banquet in the hall was nominally reopened, but in fact, the atmosphere was awkward; eight out of ten people were stealing glances at this first table, and only a few gluttons were still chewing away.

All of this was, of course, because of the powerful figure seen in that fleeting glimpse just now.

Tang Zhao had not revealed his relationship with the Sui Family Troupe, but he had met with Sui Laotou backstage just now without avoiding others; with so many eyes watching, and the Che family servants also watching, how could it be hidden?

Seeing that Che Lin and Tang Zhao would not be back for a while, Che Laotaiye could not just wait idly, so he busied himself by continuing the banquet while inviting the Sui family to sit in the seats of honor. Seeing that there were female relatives in the Sui Family Troupe, he hurriedly brought out his own wife and daughter to accompany the guests. Che Yu, who had been the protagonist of the banquet a moment ago, had now become a supporting character accompanying Sui Feng in conversation.

Among them, Sui Laotou still had some experience and could hold his own, but the others, even Qiao Shuanglian, were somewhat at a loss; although she knew how to speak and handle matters, she was always the one pleasing others—when had she ever been surrounded and flattered like this? As for Sui Feng, it went without saying; every pore of his body exuded discomfort.

While toasting, Master Che kept inquiring about Tang Zhao's background. To be able to make his eldest son so respectful and wary, he must be an extraordinary powerhouse. Unfortunately, he was a layman and did not know the difference between a Sword Hero and a Sword Guest, and he did not understand as much as Che Yu, so his questions were off the mark.

In fact, no matter how cleverly he asked, it would be useless, because the Sui family were the ones who were completely ignorant. Let alone Sword Guests, the Sui family did not even know about Knights-Errant. Even if they wanted to keep secrets for Tang Zhao, they could not say anything even if they didn't want to; if they spoke, others wouldn't believe them—when they parted five years ago, Tang Zhao was still a primary school student with no strength to truss a chicken.

Master Che probed for a long time, and the only thing he learned was that Sui Laotou and Tang Zhao were both from Yunzhou.

Seeing that this performer must just be a bumpkin who had good luck, Master Che felt envious in his heart: This is having a noble person in one's destiny; why can't I have such good luck?

He immediately ordered people to bring out several trays of items, all gold, silver, and valuables, and said, "Old Master Sui, please accept this small token of my heart."

Sui Dahai hurriedly waved his hands and said, "This cannot be! One should not receive rewards without merit; we have already received your reward money for performing at the Hall Gathering, how can we accept so much silver for nothing? I cannot take this; my heart cannot accept it."

Master Che thought he was putting on an act, so he pushed it back and forth repeatedly, even putting on a stern face and pretending to be angry, but he did not know that Sui Dahai was firmly refusing and not pretending.

Master Che broke into a sweat and thought with disdain: The bumpkin does not know what is good for him and has no destiny for wealth. But he could not force it, so he had to sit down with a dry laugh.

Sui Feng whispered to Shuanglian, "Father did the right thing; this kind of un..."

Before the word "un" could be uttered, Shuanglian stepped on his foot, causing the rest of his sentence to be swallowed back. Shuanglian glared and spat out words through her teeth, "Shut up, how many idioms do you know? You dare to use them indiscriminately?"

If she hadn't stopped him in time, and Sui Feng had said "ill-gotten gains," did he really think the others wouldn't hear?

Or perhaps Sui Feng's original intention was not to say the Che family's money was unclean, but that he himself would not take windfall wealth, which meant the same thing as what Sui Laotou said about "not receiving rewards without merit."

But Shuanglian knew that the roots of their thoughts were different. Sui Feng, with his stubborn nature, truly felt that he could not take a single cent that he did not deserve; although he was a performer in the pugilistic world, he had the character of a Knight-Errant.

Sui Dahai did not want it, likely because of caution. This old troupe leader usually relied on being careful while walking the pugilistic world; he would touch his head even if a leaf fell, so how could he dare to accept the Great Master's things? Even if the Great Master did not mind, what if Tang Zhao minded?

The more powerful Tang Zhao appeared, the less Sui Dahai dared to act rashly. He was afraid Tang Zhao would have an opinion.

But Shuanglian felt that this money could be accepted; she had seen many scholars, among whom were those with Haoran Righteous Qi and those who were hypocrites. There were those who understood more the more they read, and those who read until they were confused.

In her view, Tang Zhao looked like the type who had read books and understood them. He read many books but was not pedantic, and he must know how to be flexible in handling affairs. As for this old man, let alone whether what he was offering was ill-gotten gains, since it was offered voluntarily, what was wrong with taking it?

If one says that taking things makes one's hands soft, and from now on one owes the Che family a favor?

What a joke; the Che family treated everyone like thieves for no reason, drove them onto the stage for interrogation and humiliation, and used silver to apologize—was that not the proper etiquette? If they accepted the money, it would be magnanimous of them to forgive, so how could they end up owing a favor?

If it were her, she would accept it, then later distribute it among the various performers on the same stage, saying it was apology silver from the Che family, which would be perfectly justifiable; as for what remained, she would take it, and who could say a word against that?

With the money in hand, she wanted to build a theater, with solid bricks and tiles; it would not be a circle drawn in lime on the ground, nor a mat shed with drafts on all four sides, but a real, grand theater. She would be the boss, and also the star performer. She would perform whenever she wanted, and perform whatever she wanted; if anyone heckled, she would kick them out, and if anyone winked or made lewd remarks, she would have her bodyguards stuff their mouths with socks...

While she was lost in these wild fantasies, the atmosphere on the other side was awkward, when suddenly a whistle sounded, and countless members of the Land Inspection Bureau gathered from all directions and rushed outward.

If there had been a somewhat relaxed atmosphere while they were on duty just moments ago, and their sternness toward others had been merely superficial, at this moment it was as if someone had pressed a switch; everyone's expression turned grave, and even their pace changed.

Master Che felt a jolt at this sight; he was also a family member of the Land Inspection Bureau, so how could he not know what this meant? It represented a mission, it represented danger! He hurriedly grabbed someone he knew well and said, "Xiao Song, you are..."

That Xiao Song said, "We are going on official business!" He did not elaborate, and immediately added, "Old Master, the banquet is likely no longer appropriate. You may arrange for the guests to disperse, but it is best to keep them here; after all, the danger in the sky is unpredictable, and this place should be one of the safest spots in the city."